XIAM007

Making Unique Observations in a Very Cluttered World

Wednesday 16 November 2011

Jaktogo: Wearable luggage aims to beat airline fees - a jacket that is your luggage - LOL!! -

Jaktogo: Wearable luggage aims to beat airline fees - a jacket that is your luggage - LOL!! - 






These days, the spirits of many a high-flier are grounded by baggage fees.


"I'm shocked by them," says Jean Bailey, traveling from Tampa to Maryland.


Too many bags or too heavy and it's your wallet that gets lighter.


"It's definitely a constant worry when you pack," says Billy Rogan, a musician hoping to get his guitar on board. "You have to worry about what you want to bring."


So is there a way around this big, bag drag?


John Power thinks so. Power flies for business about once a week and the hassles and fees he encountered prompted this structural engineer from Ireland to construct some wearable luggage.  


"I seen so many people getting upset, too much pounds, too heavy, couldn't afford to pay it," says Power during an interview at Tampa International. "And hence, Jaktogo came to life."


In one form, Jaktogo is a tote-bag, but with a few quick rips of Velcro, it transforms into a jacket.


It's a jacket with not much style, "not a fashion plate", Power says while putting the jacket on. However, it's a jacket with plenty of pockets--14 of them.


"My underwear, trousers, shirts," says Power opening up a few of the pockets.


So the Jaktogo stuffed with clothes does look silly, but Power recommends you wear it only a few minutes, when you're boarding the plane.  At other times, especially when you're going through security, it should be in bag form and of course any prohibited item can't be packed inside.


So what do travelers think of this invention? Could this product take off?


"Wow, I've never seen that before," said Rogan while Power transformed Jaktogo.


And Bailey liked it so much, that she's considering spending some jack on Jaktogo.


"Oh my God, my husband would love that," she exclaimed after seeing it in action.


Read more - 
http://www.wtsp.com/news/reporter/article/220763/79/Wearable-luggage-aims-to-beat-fees

Eat Your Veggies: Congress Wants To Classify Pizza As Vegetable - like Reagan tried to credit ketchup as vegetable -

Eat Your Veggies: Congress Wants To Classify Pizza As Vegetable - like  Reagan tried to credit ketchup as vegetable - 




Next time your mom tells you to eat your vegetables, tell her you want a pizza.


Revisions to a spending bill Tuesday would classify pizza as a vegetable and pits school lunch reformers against conservatives who say government should keep its fork to itself.


The Center for Science in the Public Interest blasted Congress in a release saying it’s more interested in protecting prepackaged and frozen food industries than protecting children’s health.


“Pizza should be served with a vegetable, not count as one,” nutrition director Margo Wootan said. She called it a bigger blunder than when President Ronald Reagan tried and failed to credit ketchup as a vegetable.


Congress is pushing back against the Obama administration and its Agriculture Department bill that limits the use of starches like potatoes, cuts sodium and boosting whole grain in school lunches.


A final version of the bill released late Monday cuts out the reforms based on the 2009 recommendations of the Institute of Medicine at the National Academy of Sciences.


Read more - 
http://washington.cbslocal.com/2011/11/16/eat-your-veggies-congress-wants-to-classify-pizza-as-vegetable/

'Snatch Squads’ Caught On Camera At London Student Rally - shows plainclothes police acting as agents provocateurs -

'Snatch Squads’ Caught On Camera At London Student Rally - shows plainclothes police acting as agents provocateurs - 




A YouTube video shot during the November 9 student rally in London allegedly shows plainclothes police acting as agents provocateurs among the protesting crowds.







The video uploaded by the user “noshockdoc” shows two people who first engage in rough handling of one of the rally protesters. Then, reportedly, the same people are shown along with six others detaining someone behind a police cordon.
The media dubbed the November 9 march against tuition fees and education cuts one of the most intensively-policed events to take place in London. The force had 4,000 officers on duty on the day, and they were authorized to use rubber bullets if necessary. This was never needed, however. The Met reported that 24 arrests were made on the day.
Some of the protesters reported incidents of violence which they said had been caused by the security forces. “The police tried to provoke people to react violently, and some people had to act in self-defense against police attacks, but we all supported one another and prevented the police from causing a riot,” one of the activists, identified only as ‘Dan’, told the Oxford University student newspaper Cherwell.

Reclusive North Korea opens its door for tourists - Just don’t bring your cellphone, try to send an e-mail, or ... -

Reclusive North Korea opens its door for tourists - Just don’t bring your cellphone, try to send an e-mail, or ... - 




This reclusive and secretive country is now officially open for business — the tourism business, that is.


It has mountains, rivers, waterfalls and pine forests. Pyongyang, the capital, boasts 70 parks, water so clean you can drink from the tap, wide boulevards uncluttered by traffic or neon signs, beautiful traffic policewomen at nearly empty intersections, and a plethora of soaring monuments and memorials.


Just don’t bring your cellphone or BlackBerry, don’t try to send an e-mail, don’t plan to stroll down a street, and never try to talk to strangers or take pictures of ordinary people. None of that is allowed.


This is North Korea’s unusual experiment in opening its door a tiny crack — allowing foreign tour groups, their cash and investors into the country, but under strict admonition to restrict movement and to avoid even the most casual contact with daily life.


The vast majority of North Koreans are cut off from e-mail, the Internet, cellphones and almost every other form of contact with the outside world. Most days, there are just two government-run television channels — not on all day — with a third on weekends showing old Chinese movies. Opening this isolated country to tourists means risking the government’s near-total control over every aspect of what average citizens here can see, read, watch or hear.


But a limited opening is now part of the government’s plan. North Korea has been hit by U.N. and U.S. sanctions imposed because of its pursuit of nuclear weapons. Its economy is shrinking by some estimates, and the United Nations is projecting severe food shortages. So the country is looking to tourism — particularly from neighboring China — as a potential source of new revenue.


Read more - 
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/reclusive-north-korea-opens-door-a-crack/2011/11/10/gIQAXj7ePN_story.html